U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION CO-CHAIRMEN HASTINGS AND CARDIN TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE IN ASTANA

(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), who are leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Kazakhstan, will hold a press conference with U.S. Ambassador John M. Ordway on Tuesday, July 1 at 10:30 a.m. at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Astana.

The Members of Congress that are traveling with the delegation are U.S. Helsinki Commissioners Representatives Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Hilda Solis (D-CA) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) as well as Representatives Zach Wamp (R-TN), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), and Gwen Moore (D-WI). This is the largest U.S. Congressional delegation to ever visit Kazakhstan, which will be Chairman-in-Office (CiO) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.

During the press conference, the delegation is expected to discuss U.S.-Kazakh relations, Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010, energy security, human rights issues and regional issues of concern to the OSCE community.

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency that monitors progress in the implementation of the provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.